The Ones Who Love Us
by obliviatethesilence
Summary: Harry is visited by a few strangers who turn out to have a bigger link to his past than he could have imagined. He may come to find that all ties with his godfather are not yet lost.
1. Prologue

A/N: This is very short and it's meant to make you curious. It's not meant to make a whole lot of sense.

This story has a very loose plot, meaning that I can carry it myself if I need to, but I'd prefer suggestions and comments and speculations to help form the story. This is going to be a lot of what _you_, as readers, want. So please, I cannot and will not request your comments and input enough through this. I need you.

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><p>Her breath felt hot and steamy on his skin. Her hands traced intricate patterns across his arms and torso. Her lips teased softly, first at his collar bone, then his neck, finally on his own, never lingering more than just an intriguing brush of delicate skin, leaving his emotions in a tizzy. The feelings weren't new to him, but<em> she<em> was new to him.

"Lucy…" He normally scoffed at her common nickname, never using it, although she often begged for him to. Oh, how she hated her first name. However, now seemed like just the time to start if only to appease her. "_Lucy_," he repeated with an urgent tone, leaning into her eagerly, hungrily.

Clothing hit the floor. Bodies collided. Hands explored freely. Her moans of pleasure left him feeling satisfied in more ways than he could account for.

**One Month Later**

She pressed her fingers delicately into her stomach as though she were afraid she might unintentionally break it, not sure what to do. She could tell him, but what would that do to his N.E.W.T. scores? Could he handle the stress? It was best not to press his mind with extra worries just yet. She would wait for the opportune moment, no matter how long it took to arrive.

**Sixteen Years Later**

She had found his name in the newspaper several times over the years, and none of the information was what she would consider good. She should have told him everything when she had the chance, for now her chance would never come. The guilt plagued her mind, body, and soul. Overcome with iniquity, she wept, supported by a pair of incredibly familiar arms from her past.

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><p>AN: Look out for chapter 1 soon! With your help, this should be a quick-moving story, meaning frequent updates. But I need you!


	2. Teary Eyed Surprise

_A/N: In general, this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest are likely to be (there will be at least 14 chapters are bare minimum), but I had the exact start and ending point in mind for this one, and I didn't want to over or under explain anything. This seemed about just right for the ten minutes in time that the whole thing covers. Thanks so much to my beta Anna! She worked out a couple awkward kinks for me!_

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><p>"HALF-BREED! FILTH! BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!"<p>

"Oh, shut up," snarled Harry, casting a silencing charm on the portrait of Sirius' mum who immediately clutched at her throat, giving him the dirtiest of stares. It was only a matter of time until she had a brick wall built up in front of her as a sound barrier, but today was not that day.

He returned her harsh look and yanked the curtains shut as he jumped the last few stairs, landing with a dull thud on the carpet below. He cast light into the dark hallway as he headed to the door where he glanced out the peep hole. Three people he had never seen before were standing on the doorstep of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

It was still odd to Harry that friends besides the Weasleys, strangers, and well-wishers would now arrive every so often to visit. He had been so used to the Fidelius Charm that had once protected the house from intruders, but had since been removed in the aftermath of the war. Nevertheless, these particular visitors looked friendly enough, so he pulled open the door to greet them.

A lady with thick brown curls that were graying right around the part in her hair was standing in front of two taller people, a boy and a girl who looked around Harry's age, if not a bit older.

The girl had the same shade of brown hair as her mother, but it was straight and shiny and kept in a loose bun off to the side of the base of her neck. She was slim and tall, only an inch or so shorter than Harry, and carried a pride that made her look just a cut above the rest of her family. Harry would have put her up with Malfoy's crowd, although she seemed warmer than that lot. She looked oddly familiar even though Harry knew they had never met.

The boy was the same height as the girl but with broader shoulders and a wider face. He was clearly athletic. He had his mousy brown hair kept rather short and shared the same expression of anticipation as his mother.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked his guests, opening the door far enough as to speak with them comfortably, but not so wide as to bid them entrance.

The woman's eyes instantly began filling with tears. Just as Harry had suspected; they were simply another family of well-wishers who had wanted to thank him for his service to the Wizarding World. Harry sighed, waiting for the wringing of his hand or the patting of his head, or perhaps even the thrilling story of how he had specifically and miraculously saved their younger family member in the battle at Hogwarts even though that was hardly the case.

However, nothing of the sort came. Instead, the boy silently pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to the woman. "Thank you," she mumbled, dabbing at her eyes and balling the small cloth up in her fist for further use. "I'm so sorry, Harry," she stammered, her lips still quivering. "It's just that you look so much like him—like James, I mean."

Harry opened the door a little further, flooded with sudden curiosity. "You knew my father?" The words came out quickly as he searched the woman's features for any signs he might recognize, perhaps from old pictures of his father's school days.

He had met many of James Potter's school friends through The Order of the Phoenix, but he had never seen this particular woman before.

She nodded, dabbing at her eyes again. "I'm sorry. I haven't even properly introduced myself!" She held out her hand, which he eagerly shook. "Ludicia Frones. And these are my children, Adriane and Tommaso." He opened his mouth to return the introduction, but she shook her head, dropping his hand to hold hers up, silencing him. "We already know who you are, Harry."

"Would you like to come in?" he offered, opening the door completely and standing aside to grant them entrance.

"That would be lovely," she said, stepping past him through the door, her offspring filing behind her like silent body guards.

Harry guided them into the kitchen where they all took seats at the table. "How can I help you, Mrs. Frones?"

"Ms." she corrected gently. "I never married. And please, call me Lucy."

Harry apologized, but she waved her hand to dismiss his mistake. He assumed because of her children it must be a very common one.

"I'm here to talk to you about Sirius Black," she said softly. "Ari, Tomas, I'd like to speak with Mr. Potter alone for a moment." The two immediately stood up, looking to Harry for direction on where they could wait. He had yet to hear either of them speak a word.

"Oh—er—the drawing room is up the stairs, first door on the left. But keep quiet. It's possible to wake things up in this house."

If they found these instructions to be odd, neither of them showed it as they made their way out of the kitchen wordlessly.

Harry stared at Ludicia for a moment, watching her eyes dart back and forth nervously as she looked around the room. Once she deemed that her two children were safely out of earshot, she set right into her tale. "I'm assuming you know that because I knew your father, I also knew Sirius Black? Rarely one without the other, James and Sirius." Harry nodded, and she continued seamlessly. "Well, you see, I had to tell someone, Harry. Someone has got to know. It can't be just me anymore."

She lost herself in tears again, and had to stop for a moment to calm herself down. Harry waited patiently although he was growing anxious as to where this conversation was headed. The vague start to her story was doing nothing for his nerves.

"Sirius and I were—well, we were _more _than friends at school, you see." Harry could understand this. Despite her graying hairline and her moderately aged face, Ludicia was clearly once a very attractive woman, and likely in Sirius' league at school.

"I'm not sure if he was ever truly fond of me or not," Ludicia mused, "but he found me suitable to occupy his time with while James was with Lily. He was terribly jealous, I think. Always wanted to talk about them. Perhaps it was just because they were his friends, but I should think otherwise." She was talking more to herself than to Harry at this point, but he figured it best to let her talk it all out.

Harry had no idea what any of this had to do with him, but she didn't seem to be at the end of her story just yet.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, we were more than friends. We spent quite a lot of time together in those last few months at Hogwarts… Walks by the lake, adventures down to the kitchens—he knew that school better than anyone, Sirius did." There was a chuckle in her tone, which Harry appreciated far more than the sobbing. He had yet to understand why she could possibly be getting emotional if she wasn't an extremely close friend of his father or Sirius.

However, Harry knew her words to be true. Sirius and his dad helped to make the Marauder's Map, so naturally they had a very deep understanding of the school's passageways and secrets. By the tone in her voice, however, Ludicia knew nothing of the map.

"Well, one thing led to another—" The woman cut herself off and glanced upstairs to where her children were no doubt sitting quietly as instructed. She didn't finish her sentence, but simply looked back over to Harry, her eyes rapidly filling with tears once more.

Harry's head began spinning as he, too, looked up at the ceiling in silent shock as though he could see through to the rooms above. Her body language was suggesting only one thing, but it was impossible. It _had _to be impossible.

"Are you saying that those two are-?"

"Sirius' son and daughter, yes," Ludicia concluded with another hefty sob.

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><p><em>AN: Bum, bum, bum! Let me know what you thought! I'd be more than happy to answer any questions or discuss anything you're confused about! I hope that this story has intrigued a few of you to stick around. It's going to be a bumpy ride!_

_Reviews are like candy for me!_

_-Ashley_


	3. The Story

_A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Kiley, a girl who this story couldn't be possible without seeing as she gave me the idea (in a roundabout fashion). _

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><p><em>"Are you saying that those two are-?"<em>

_"Sirius' son and daughter, yes," Ludicia concluded with another hefty sob._

**And that's what you missed on TOWLU!**

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><p>Harry stared at Ludicia in disbelief. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to this information. All he could do was gape at her awkwardly and stammer out, "You're absolutely sure?" though his voice was uncomfortably high-pitched.<p>

He cleared his throat roughly as she nodded in affirmation. "Positive."

What she was saying seemed impossible. Sirius couldn't have children. Sirius would have known he had children, wouldn't he? Though, Harry supposed not. If Ludicia hadn't told him and it had been right at the end of their seventh year, there was a decent chance that Sirius would have had no idea.

Harry's insides were twisting horribly as though they were being knotted together by invisible hands.

"So… They'd be twins then?" He coughed uncomfortably, trying to ease the tension.

Ludicia nodded slowly. "It was bad enough thinking I had one, but then come to find out there were two." Her laughter was awkward, forced even. It did nothing but bring about the arrival of more tears.

Harry threaded his fingers together diplomatically, attempting to find a gripping place in the whirlwind of sudden information. He needed something to latch onto to keep him grounded lest his head soar through the ceiling in shock and frighten Ari and Tomas.

A thought crossed Harry's mind. Adriane and Tommaso must be around his own age, yet he had never seen them at Hogwarts. Was it possible that Sirius' children were Squibs?

"How old are Adriane and Tomas?" he asked casually, trying to see if his theory was possible.

"They're nearly twenty now, dear," Ludicia answered. "But if you're guessing as to why you never saw them at Hogwarts, it's because they went to a different school."

"Beauxbatons?" Harry asked, referencing the French school which he knew many nice students went to including Ron's new sister-in-law Fleur.

"No, Durmstrang. It was closer to home and I've never cared for the French."

Harry knew Durmstrang to produce some of the darkest of wizards. They focused heavily on the Dark Arts, and not only defense of it, but also the practice. While he was mulling this over, Ludicia lost herself in her emotions once more, burying herself in her handkerchief.

So not only did she not tell Sirius before his arrest of the existence of his flesh and blood but she also sent them to a school which would likely have made them cynical and on-edge, turning them into the family that Sirius had turned away from. His tone took a turn for the bitter.

"He didn't know? He knew nothing of his family? He didn't get a say in anything? Not their names, not their play things? Not their _school_?" Ludicia eyed him carefully as he spoke. "He would have been less reckless with them around! He wouldn't have stormed off and gotten himself bloody arrested!"

Harry could feel his face flushing, his volume rising. He wasn't exactly angry, but he was confused and hurt for his godfather's sake. Ludicia's face remained impassive. She must have known he would grow upset at some point in their chat.

When he spoke again, his voice was hardly more than a whisper. "Why did you keep them from him?"

Harry was torn between comfort in the fact that he was the one who received Sirius' attention in his last years instead of his own flesh and blood, and horror at the fact that they existed at all and he had not known. Their existence might have kept him from Azkaban, and it might have kept him around in Harry's life as well as theirs.

Ludicia blew her nose loudly and then continued to speak. "I w-wanted to tell him. I really did, but when I finally worked up the nerve, he was—"

"He was in jail," Harry finished for her, his tone heavy. Naturally, he was in jail before the twins were much older than toddlers. While that was still a hefty chunk of time in which she could have told him, she seemed the soft sort and had probably been waiting for some flashing moment complete with fireworks and balloons in which to break the news.

Yes, it was starting to make sense. No one in their right mind would brave the Dementors of Azkaban just to tell a convicted criminal that he had fathered their children.

No, she would logically have made up some story for her children about how their father had been a brave man, but he had lost his life fighting for some great cause. That's what he would have done at least. No sense in burdening their lives with their murderous bloodline.

Imagine going to school as an eleven year old and having to explain to your friends that your father was a highly dangerous serial killer. Adriane and Tommaso would have had no friends. Everyone would have been scared of getting on their bad side lest their father escape and come after anyone who had so much as forgotten to return a borrowed quill.

Ludicia continued solemnly once she had regained her composure. "And then he escaped from Azkaban, and I was so frightened that he would find out about the children and come after us." Her hands were shaking almost as much as her voice. "I was tempted to put them in hiding. I didn't know he was actually innocent, you see. I thought he was dangerous. I—I thought he would find us…"

She was doing her best to remain calm, but her memories were clearly vivid and bringing two years where she was likely living in constant fear for her life back to the forefront of her mind.

"It's okay that you didn't know," Harry assured her. "I didn't know either until I saw him for myself."

Ludicia nodded as though his words made the situation better. "I admit that I didn't pull them out of school immediately. I assumed that if he found out about them, the first place he would go would be Hogwarts. And then I read of the break in…"

Harry let out an audible groan. Of course she had heard about escaped convict Sirius Black who had broken into Hogwarts, slashing curtains and portraits, looking for one person in particular. It had been all over _The Daily Prophet_, _Witch Weekly_, and even mentioned in _The Quibbler_.

"I thought he was after one of the children. I—I panicked. I brought them home. They asked a lot of questions. I answered with lies filled with holes. They were suspicious, but what else could I have done? I was convinced that he wanted them—but for what I didn't know. I was foolish… No one even knew he was connected to us except for me."

Harry reached a hand across the table and placed it comfortingly atop hers. "It's okay that you were scared. It doesn't make you foolish; it simply makes you a good mother."

Ludicia swallowed a massive lump in her throat and stared at her hands, focusing on his as though drawing strength from him to continue.

"It wasn't until a few years ago that his name was cleared, but it was already too late."

Harry knew very well that Sirius' name wasn't cleared until after his death. In this case, it was a true tragedy because it meant he never knew of the existence of his family.

"Do they know?" Harry asked, indicating the upstairs area where Adriane and Tommaso were waiting patiently.

"Of course," Ludicia said tartly as though there weren't any other option. "I couldn't keep that from them. They were always asking questions, and he was their father, after all. Adriane took it well, but Tomas… he has barely spoken a word since I told them."

Harry let her compose herself for a few moments before asking, "I'm sorry, but I still don't understand why you're here."

It was nice of her to have stopped by and told him the existence of his would-have-been family— Merlin knew Sirius and James were as good as brothers— but it didn't really make sense. Why would she put herself through all of this emotional stress if, in the end, his knowing the situation didn't really change matters in the slightest?

Ludicia seemed to come to, her thoughts a little more lucid. "I hope it won't be too much trouble for you, but I was actually hoping that maybe you would tell Ari and Tommaso about their father… You knew him far better than I, I should think. He was your godfather, wasn't he?"

Harry's stomach tightened even further, lurching a little at so much mention of Sirius. "Yes," Harry answered curtly. "He was. But I barely knew him at all."

His answer wasn't false. He had only known his godfather for two short years- two years in which he was kept cooped up in his house, unable to do anything he deemed useful. He had never known the Sirius that everyone else did. The Sirius who helped design the Marauder's Map, the man who happily flew around on a flying motorbike, the Sirius who had been best friends with his dad; that particular Sirius was a mystery to him. He had known him, and he had known quite a few others who had known him, too, but it was hardly enough to be able to rattle off countless stories about a person.

Ludicia's face fell. She'd been hoping for someone who could give her children the answers she couldn't, and he was letting her down.

"But, of course I'll tell them what I _do_ know," Harry added quickly, not wanting her to cry again. "It might not be much, but it'll be something."

"Oh, would you, Harry?" Ludicia exclaimed excitedly, practically pouncing on him from across the table to kiss every inch of his face she could reach. "Oh you wonderful boy!"

"When would you like me to speak with them?" Harry asked uncomfortably, pulling himself away from her very sturdy grip.

"Oh, as soon as possible, if you will! Today even!"

Harry hadn't been expecting to spend all day talking about his godfather. Talking about him was still painful, especially because it usually involved talking about his own father and Remus, too; the three men who had been closest to paternal figures to him, all now gone.

"Would you like to stay as well?" Harry asked out of formality. He was not entirely sure if he could handle an entire day of Ludicia's sudden crying fits on top of emotional stories about Sirius and James.

"Oh, no, no, no," Ludicia said with certainty, shaking her head. "This is something that Adriane wants because she thinks it'll be good for Tommaso. I'm much better off staying right in the dark where I have been for over twenty years. If I didn't know him very well at school, I surely don't need to know him better now that he's gone."

Harry accepted this answer, though it made him uncomfortable how carelessly she tossed around the idea of Sirius' death. "Do they know that you're asking me to speak with them?"

Ludicia nodded slowly.

"That's why I figured they would be better off out of the way so you didn't feel pressured to say yes."

"Well then, I guess I had better go fill them in, hadn't I?"

"You really are a darling, Harry. Truly."

She gripped his arm tightly as Harry showed her to the door where she seemed very keen to get now that she had gotten all of her talking out of the way.

"Thank you very much, Harry. Just send them right home when you feel they've learned enough. Tommas may not say much, but Adriane is hard to shut up once you've gotten her going. Just remind her what she and I talked about this morning and it should calm her right down."

"I think we'll be fine Ms. F—_Lucy_," he corrected himself quickly before she had the opportunity to. With a smile back in his direction, Ludicia Disapparated as soon as her feet hit the doorstep.

The hallway was now oddly quiet again, and Harry was forced to pluck up some of his inner Gryffindor courage in order to even think about leaving it.

After taking several very deep breaths, he headed up the stairs to his drawing room to face two ghosts from his past that up until ten minutes before, he never even knew existed.

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><p><em>AN: This, again, is sort of a short chapter compared to what I think the later ones are going to be. These first few are all setting up for later happenings. The actual plot hasn't really even been introduced yet. But isn't that the exciting part? _

_I hope I was able to convey the answer to any question you might have had as to the background of Adriane and Tommaso, and chances are, if there's something I didn't answer it's because I have a fun way of answer it later on. But regardless, if you're confused, ask me! I might have forgot to mention something. _

_I can't wait until chapter three because I get to truly introduce you to Adriane and Tommaso, two characters who I have recently spent many hours with and am deeply in love with. I hope that you learn to love them, too! There will soon be a link to pictures from this story on my profile in case you're curious what Adriane, Tomasso, and Ludicia look like. Cheers!_

_-Ashley_


	4. Unwanted Invitations

Chapter 3

_A/N: To answer some questions: This story takes place about one year after the 7__th__ book. So Harry is 18 years old and he'll probably be 19 by the time the story is over. It's in the end of May right now in the timeline. Adrianne and Tommaso are about a year and a half older than Harry. I'm not sure if that's canon to the books for how long James and Lily were together before they had him, but if it isn't, feel free to pretend it is for the sake of the story!_

_Tommaso is pronounced just as it's spelled toe-mah-so and Adriane is pronounced aw-dree-on-ah. If you say those quickly, that's what their names are like. Her name isn't another way to spell the name "Adrian". That e on the end makes it fancier than it looks. And her nickname "Ari" is pronounced like ah-ree. _

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><p><em>After taking several very deep breaths, he headed up the stairs to his drawing room to face two ghosts from his past that up until ten minutes before, he never even knew existed.<em>

**And that's what you missed on TOWLU!**

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><p>Harry eased himself into the drawing room, trying not to appear as uncomfortable as he felt. His head was flooded with questions of his own, but now was the time for answering, not asking.<p>

He had expected both Adriane and Tomas to be seated quietly on the couch with their hands folded in their laps as they had presented themselves so neatly downstairs, but it was only Tomas who was sitting.

His feet were propped up on the coffee table and he had a book from the shelf across the room on his lap, which he was reading so quickly his eyes appeared blurred. It reminded Harry strangely of the times when Hermione had been cramming for an exam the night before. He looked up as Harry entered the room and lowered his feet, closing the book as he set it gently on the table in front of him. His eyes were suddenly alight with anticipation.

Looking at Adriane, who was standing by the fireplace looking picturesque, Harry understood why she had seemed so familiar when he had first seen her. Everything about her was Sirius. She had so many of his features that it was a wonder he hadn't noticed it before. Tommaso, too, was almost a copy of Sirius from his school days, but with lighter hair and broader shoulders.

"Tell me, Potter," Adriane suddenly said in a voice much deeper and sultry than he had been expecting, "Has my mother told you to babysit us and answer all of our questions like we are little schoolchildren and then you are to send us home as though we would be satisfied?"

"That pretty much sums it up, yeah," Harry said honestly with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "But that's not what I'm going to do."

"It's not?" Adriane asked, shifting her posture in a way that suggested a physical challenge. She was clearly skeptical of him. He was someone who had known her father, but however closely, she was not sure. She didn't want to hear anything that would taint her heroic view of him, no doubt.

"No," Harry said, sitting in a chair across from Tommaso, casually breaking her physical provocation.

Looking more closely at Adriane, he could easily see that she had gone to Durmstrang. She was a very strong sister from the North as they were so often referred. Her features were heavier than they might have been had she gone to Hogwarts or Beauxbatons. Her brow was furrowed and her mouth was clearly more used to scowling than smiling.

Durmstrang had made her serious and wary, but also very quick-witted and full of common sense. She came pre-instilled with a Moody-sized dose of constant vigilance. She hesitated a great while before gliding across the room to sit down on the sofa next to her brother, staring at Harry with the same piercing gray eyes that he had once seen on his godfather.

"So, tell us how wonderful and spectacular our father was so we can go home," Adriane snapped, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Whether it was from impatience that she was operating on his time instead of her own or irritation that he wasn't the scrawny, arrogant git she had pictured him to be, Harry wasn't sure.

"I wasn't planning on telling you that," Harry said with just as much attitude as she was implying. "But I could if you'd like me to."

Adriane continued to stare at him, her eyes cutting right through to his insides. He felt vulnerable, but he tried hard not to show it as daggers continued to fly from her expression. Something in her life had made her bitter and judgmental, that much was clear.

Tommaso remained silent and seemingly impassive, his gaze gliding from his sister to Harry and back as though he were watching a rather interesting stage production.

"Your father was one of the best men I ever knew," Harry started, to which Adriane scoffed, crossing her arms and drumming her fingers in an agitated manner. "_But,_ he was also one of the proudest, most condescending, and downright foolish men I ever knew, as well." Adriane stopped making noises as she turned her eyes to him again, this time in a curious way, homing in on his every word.

Harry had been wrong before; she didn't want to hear good things about Sirius at all. She wanted to hear the view that everyone else had been refusing her—the view that made him seem human. For the past three years since his death, she had likely heard story after story about how brave Sirius was and how kind and how curious, adventurous, and loyal. She wanted to hear the other side of the story, and she was hoping he would deliver it to her.

He wasn't going to let his opinion of his godfather sway one way or the other, but he would offer Adriane and Tommaso the complete truth as he knew it, and nothing more, nothing less.

"I didn't know him for very long at all," Harry said lamely, "but I know that there wasn't another man like him. He slaughtered his own reputation for the sake of his friends' honor. He spent twelve years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He stayed hidden for the sake of the good of the war. He loved freedom more than anyone I have ever met, and it was the one thing he was constantly giving up. He was an awful singer, but his sausages were to die for. He was a great listener and even better at giving advice to those who needed it. Christmas was his favorite holiday. He looked awful in plaid. He secretly hummed Celestina Warbeck songs under his breath when he didn't think anyone was listening."

At that bit, Adriane let out a genuine laugh, although she tried to hide it behind a cough.

"He was part of one of the strongest groups of friends that Hogwarts has ever seen; the Marauders. It was him, my dad, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew." Tommaso gasped, recognizing the name of the man his father had been rumored to have killed. "They were four of the greatest students to ever pass through the school. He died at the hand of his own cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, and the last words out of his mouth were a joke. That's all he ever wanted—to make people laugh."

Tommaso was watching him intently, drinking in his every word with fists clenched at his side, but Adriane was staring at the floor, doing everything she could not to appear touched by Harry's words, her earlier laughter still clinging to the creases of her eyes in a desperate attempt to linger on.

"I know you didn't know your father, and I wish I had known him longer. He was a man unlike any other, and the world was better because he was in it."

Adriane's brow furrowed as she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of air. She seemed like she was mentally preparing herself for something, but for what, Harry had no idea. He watched her with heavy eyes as she mumbled silent words to herself, unaware of anything except her thoughts.

It was awhile before anyone spoke, and Harry was shocked to hear the words coming from Tomas. "Was he happy when he died?" His voice sounded so much like Sirius' that Harry almost had to do a double take. It was natural for family members to have similar tones to their voices, but he hadn't been expecting it.

"I mean—not was he happy_ to_ die, but—but around the time it happened, was he—you know—happy?"

After he had regained some composure, Harry spoke. "He went out dueling, which his friend Remus told me was how he would have wanted to go. He believed there were things worth dying for. He was out of this house for the first time in months and he was doing something useful for the Order of the Phoenix. I would say it was the happiest he had been in a long time."

"Do you think it hurt him at all?"

Harry remembered seeing Sirius less than a year before with the aid of the Resurrection Stone and the words he had spoken regarding death. "No," said Harry with absolute certainty. "It was quicker and easier than falling asleep."

He wanted to add how Sirius had told him that bit of information firsthand, but that was an entirely different story that he really didn't want to get into.

Tommaso nodded, clearly pleased with this answer although he was rubbing his hands together quite vigorously. Harry pushed it off as simple fidgeting. Adriane still had yet to move from her position, looking oddly like a statue.

"Did he ever mention our mother?"

Adriane broke her stance and immediately swatted Tomas before the words had even completely left his mouth. "Of course he didn't," she hissed, though Harry couldn't quite understand her irritation. It was a natural question that should have arisen. The way she was scolding Tomas it was as though he were a small child who had asked the random woman with a round belly in the street if she was pregnant.

Breaking the tension, Harry answered the question anyway, however slowly and hesitantly. "No. Not directly, at least." Harry attempted to sift through his memories, trying to think of one where Sirius might have told him a story about a girl from school who he had taken a liking to, but none came to mind.

"He was being daft," Adriane snapped. "Our father wouldn't have talked about her. He never even wrote her after school was over, right? She didn't matter to him, remember?" She was prodding Tommaso with her words until he finally nodded in affirmation, his face white as a sheet.

He hung his head in defeat and muttered, "Sorry. Bit of a stupid question, really."

Feeling the awkward emotions starting to bleed into the conversation, Harry snapped his fingers, signaling the arrival of a very old, very tattered house elf. "Kreacher, do you think you could make dinner for three tonight?"

"Yes, Master," Kreacher said with a low bow, eyeing the two new arrivals with great interest. As he disappeared, Harry wondered if he realized that the two people sitting with him in the room were more his masters than he could ever be. They were Blacks by blood.

"We won't be staying," Adriane said defiantly, finally raising her head. "Mother said to ask you our questions and come right home."

"And do you always do as your mother tells you?" Harry asked. She shut her mouth immediately, glowering at him. "I thought not. Dinner it is! I hope you like roast beef and potatoes. It's one of the only things Kreacher remembers how to cook these days."

* * *

><p>It didn't take much to get Tommaso to open up during dinner, which surprised Harry for how his mother had mentioned he had hardly spoken in three years. His sudden urge to talk clearly annoyed his sister who kept to herself most of the meal, scraping her food around her plate in a disgusted manner, and Harry knew it wasn't due to Kreacher's cooking.<p>

While Tomas rambled on about school and his classes and his friends (most of which he hadn't spoken to in awhile and he intended to remedy that immediately) and Adriane had a silent, but meaningful exchange with her plate, Harry studied them both, trying to find all the ways he could spot his godfather on their faces.

It wasn't a difficult game. The more he stared, the more he saw Sirius in every feature.

"Would you like a tour of the house?" Harry asked once the elf was through clearing away their plates. "It belonged to Sirius. He grew up here."

Tomas nodded eagerly, getting to his feet as though he couldn't wait another minute.

Adriane looked from Harry to her brother and sighed, her eyes giving a nearly undetectable roll. Clearly she didn't want to stick around, but she wouldn't leave without Tomas. "Fine," she said quickly with no argument, rising from her chair as well. "Show us the way, oh fearless leader, but make it quick."

As soon as they had made it into the hall, Harry had a thought. Adriane was a few paces behind him, so as soon as he started up the stairs, he hammered into the wall with his fist, causing the curtains around Sirius' mother to fly open as her irate shouts filled the hall.

Adriane screamed and covered her ears, ducking into Harry's chest instinctually as though he could protect her from the sudden deafening yells.

"FILTH! RUBBISH! CREATURES OF VILE INTRUDING ON THE MOST NOBLE AND ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK!"

"Meet your grandmother," Harry muttered with a playful smirk, performing the usual silencing charm and casually tossing the curtains back over the portrait.

Adriane straightened up, her eyes narrowed and her face livid.

"And that my dear children is why we don't make noise in the hall. Shall we proceed," Harry said in an annoying sing-song voice that he knew would only further Adriane's irritation, indicating up the stairs. If their mother had been there at that moment, Harry was almost sure that Adriane would be severely reprimanded for the stream of curses flying out of her mouth.

"That was our grandmum?" Tomasso asked once they were safely behind a door and out of the stairwell.

"Yes, lovely woman, isn't she?" Harry offered. "We've been trying to pry her off for ages."

"_We_?" Adriane asked. Harry had to admire her dignity. Although she had completely fallen to pieces in the hall, no one would ever have guessed it now. Not a hair was out of place and her expression was right back to its usual proud scowl.

"Yes, as in the Order of the Phoenix. It was a group who worked to defeat Lord Voldemort. Your dad was a member almost his entire life. This was headquarters."

As expected, both of them gasped when he said the name, although for them, the gasp appeared more as a habit than actual fear. He supposed this had something to do with being Durmstrang students. They were taught not to fear anything Dark, even the name of the Dark Lord himself.

"And your_ charming_ grandmother, before she died, chose to put permanent sticking charms on the back of her most valuable items insuring their place in the 'most noble house of Black' for all eternity."

"Lovely," Adriane snarled, though her sarcasm was heavy.

"Did you ever meet her?" Tommaso asked, staring at the door as though he could see through it to where his grandmother's portrait hung.

"No. She died awhile ago… I'm not sure whether it was before I was born or not, but not soon after at any rate. Sirius didn't talk about her much."

"I wonder why…" Adriane hissed through her teeth.

"She wasn't very proud of your dad. He was the first family member for quite some time not to be sorted into Slytherin—the Hogwart's house known for producing more dark wizards than any other. She preferred your Uncle Regulus. She disowned Sirius before he was even out of Hogwart's- after he ran away."

"Where did he go?" Tommaso's tone was worried.

"To my dad's place. At least until he got an apartment of his own. I don't know much more than that. It wasn't a story he liked telling."

Harry led them through the main rooms of the house, pointing out the occasional Black family heirloom—Tommaso showed particular interest in the Black family tree where his father's burn mark proved Harry's earlier words that his father had indeed been disowned by the Black family—and by the time he finished the tour, Tomasso was yawning and Adriane appeared as though she, too, could easily use some rest, although Harry could have pegged that to the fact that he had taken every opportunity offered to startle her in an attempt to break her fierce facade. Glancing at his watch, Harry realized that it was already nearing midnight.

"You know," he said, stopping them before they reached the stairs to go back down. "It was nice having guests today. Normally the house is quiet, lonely even. I didn't think I had missed company as much as I clearly have. I wouldn't mind if you stayed tonight. I could tell you more about your dad, you can have a good rest, and then some breakfast in the morning. What do you say?"

Tomas looked like he was more than willing to accept, but Adriane held out her hand to stop him. "What are you playing at, Potter? Do you want to rub it in our faces even more how you knew our dad and we never could? Do you like making us feel inferior to someone who is younger than us, more famous than us, and clearly got more love from our father than us? Is that what you want?"

"No—I just—"

"I know what you wanted to do. Don't try to lie to me." Adriane brushed past him and into the hall. "Come on, Tommaso. We're leaving."

"You're not the boss of me," Tommaso said quietly, refusing to look directly at his sister.

"What did you say?" Adriane snapped, her hands flying to her hips in a defiant stance.

Tommaso, suddenly heartened by her fierce retaliation, began shouting. "You're not the boss of me, Ari! You've been treating me like I'm five my whole life. I'm your twin brother. Your_ older_ twin brother in fact. Just because I haven't had anything to say for awhile doesn't mean that I'm an idiot. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions!"

It was about this point in his rant that Mrs. Black joined in, adding her fit of rage to Tommaso's increasing tone.

"I want to stay with Harry in Dad's old house, and if you want to leave that's fine, but don't expect me to always follow you around like your bloody shadow. Harry's been more than kind to us today, and all you've done is beat him down for it. It's a wonder he asked us to stay at all."

Tommaso finished his rant and crossed his arms, returning Adriane's usual harsh glare with intense similarity. Her face, however, had softened during his speech. For once, she appeared to be a startled little girl and not the proud woman Harry knew she would much rather be portrayed as.

"Oh, _shut up_!" Tomas added, pointing his wand at his grandmother's portrait as the curtains flew shut and her voice was silenced yet again.

Ari's face screwed up in concentration as she tried not to look back and forth between Tommaso and Harry. Her mouth opened as if she were going to retaliate, but she closed it immediately, obviously unsure. She finally sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Okay. Lead the way, Potter. Where are our rooms?"

* * *

><p><em>AN: Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! I feel like this chapter did some justice to setting up half of the storyline, and the next chapter or two will set up the rest. I would love to hear what you think is going to happen with Adriane, Tommaso, and Harry! _

_Also, my beta didn't catch any grammar errors with this chapter, but if some fell through the cracks anyway, please let me know! _

_-Ashley_


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